Nonprofit News

The longest government shutdown in the nation’s history officially ended on January 25, 2019. During the 35-day partial shutdown, approximately 420,000 federal workers worked without pay, and another 380,000 were furloughed (TIME, 2019).

Government shutdowns can have heavy impacts for many nonprofit organizations that often work to fill gaps left by suspended federal services.

Many human services organizations see a spike in demand for necessities, such as food and shelter, while simultaneously struggling with a lack of government funding. Other nonprofits, such as environmental and disaster relief organizations, see a less immediate impact.

Mega-gifts are on the rise, according to The Chronicle of Philanthropy. They are the holy grail of philanthropy: large single donations can impact an organization significantly by re-energizing programs, supporting organizational growth and transforming communities. Higher education and healthcare organizations are getting the lion’s share of large gifts of $10 million and above, but so far those mega-gifts have eluded human services organizations. What can nonprofits in the human services sector do to better position themselves for large cash opportunities?

Human service organizations address some of the most complex problems ingrained in our society. Donors don’t need convincing that these are worthy causes— on the contrary, U.S. Trust Study of High Net Worth Philanthropy found 81 percent of high-net worth households gave to organizations addressing basic needs in 2014, and the sector is growing steadily. Yet, The Chronicle of Philanthropy reported that of the $10.2 billion given by America’s top 50 most generous philanthropists in 2014, not a single U.S. human service organization received a gift of $200 million or more.

Mega donors are giving to human service organizations, but they aren’t giving mega gifts.